Eyes on Asia: UAE, Philippines eye CPTPP accession

The United Arab Emirates and the Philippines have applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, Nikkei reported on Monday, citing Japanese government sources. The report says the two gave New Zealand – the CPTPP depositary – accession requests in August. They will fall into a queue for prospective members that includes Indonesia, Ecuador, Uruguay, China and Taiwan. The UAE is the first from the Middle East to apply to join the deal, which includes 12 countries.